Blinded by science
The stodgy old dioramas and woolly mammoth skeletons of childhood natural history museums have now given way to super-fly multimedia infotainment bazaars like Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s The Genomic Revolution, whose design features myriad video screens and the sound and light effects of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.
The exhibition, which originated at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, actually manages to make science sexy (and sometimes inadvertently funny) while raising thoughtful questions about science’s potential for both discovery and disaster. Genomic ponders humankind’s progress from the discovery of the DNA double helix molecule in 1953 to current debates about cloning, Frankenstein foods and genetic testing.
The exhibition is an immersion in head-swimming sensory overload that can approximate the freaky, mind-blowing sci-fi potential of the genomic research it treats. Upon entering the exhibition, a light show of genomic code plays upon walls, and New Agey musical accompaniment of spooky electronica-meets-didjeridoo music establishes the weird science to come.
Interactivity is a feature of the show that can inspire deeply troubling ethical questions one minute and then lapse into genuine goofiness the next, as with a “Mutation Station” where kiddies can manipulate a mega-strand of DNA to create freaky mutations in a graphic rendition of a fly. “You’ve found a mutation!” a screen flashes. “What Would You Do?” polling stations allow viewers to measure their response to ethical questions raised by genetic science to other museum visitors.
Though the exhibition organizers have certainly arranged the show for maximum populist accessibility with its future-shock design and hands-on displays, it’s hard not to see bits of contemporary art in some of the set design. An LED scroll detailing the prophetic potential of genomic research (“We will be able to genetically enhance our capacity for memory”) is pure Jenny Holzer, while a see-through play lab with glowing tables where kids can extract DNA from wheat germ has the look of one of Damien Hirst’s medical installations. And it’s no wonder such artists come to mind, considering how often fine art expresses some of our fears at how quickly science has made life itself into a weirdly conceptual proposition.
The Genomic Revolution runs through Jan. 2 at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road. Mon-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m. Adults $12, students and seniors $11, children 12 and under $10, children 2 and under and museum members free. 404-929-6300. www.fernbank.edu/museum.